Parenting and children’s adjustment problems: the mediating role of self-esteem and peer relations

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of parental and personal characteristics on children’s internalizing/externalizing problems. Further, this study aimed to examine personal characteristics (self-esteem, peer relations) as mediators in the relation between parenting and internalizing/externalizing problems. In order to address these questions, this study used a cross-sectional design. The sample included 588 pre-adolescents and adolescents (10–14 years old) and their mothers. Children completed the My Memories of Upbringing Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (child report), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and the Harter’s Self Perception Profile (Social acceptance subscale), while mothers completed The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent report). Results support a model for the influence of both direct and indirect effects on children’s internalizing/externalizing problems.     

Examining Latina/o Students’ Experiences of Injustice: LatCrit Insights from a Texas High School

We used Latina/Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) to re-analyze survey and interview data from earlier research in which we found that Latina/o students reported less positive experiences than other students in this high school. We found racial injustice in class enrollments, in students’ experiences with stereotypes and prejudice, in student-teacher relationships, and in school policies and norms. LatCrit principles illustrate interconnections among racism, interest convergence, and colorblindness that create racial injustice for Latinas/os. We argue that counterstorytelling could emerge to resist that injustice and that educators must understand how racism functions in their schools and interrogate relevant policies and norms.     

Rapid naming speed and reading across languages that vary in orthographic consistency

The objective of this study was to examine how rapid naming speed is related to reading ability across languages that vary in orthographic consistency. Forty English-speaking Canadian children, 40 Greek-speaking Cypriot children, and 40 Chinese-speaking Taiwanese children were administered RAN, reading accuracy, and reading fluency tasks in grade 4. The results revealed that across languages there were no statistically significant differences in the correlations between RAN and reading. However, a subsequent analysis of the RAN components—articulation and pause time—revealed that different RAN components may be responsible for the RAN-reading relationship across languages. Implications for existing theories relating RAN to reading are discussed.     

Does the subaltern speak? Migrant voices in digital Europe

ABSTRACT

This article examines a number of digital initiatives where refugees and migrants speak with/to Europe in the context of the “migration crisis.” The analysis of four institutional and grassroots initiatives illustrates digital Europe’s symbolic articulations of borders that divide people and territories. As argued, the mediated visibility and voice of refugees and migrants matter precisely as the order of appearance (in Arendt’s terms) in digital Europe represents a fundamental dimension of the continent’s communicative order: revealing who speaks and who is silenced, which actors are heard and which are sidelined in the context of Europe’s “migration crisis.” The incorporation of refugee and migrant voices in digital Europe shows that voice does not guarantee recognition; rather, its incorporation reveals the complex politics of digital representation: on occasions challenging hegemonic power structures but most often digitally reaffirming bordering power and its symbolical articulations.     

Teacher generations in an era of reform

Danish upper-secondary school is currently undergoing remarkable changes. Comprehensive reforms and restructuring have transformed teacher roles and school organization. However, not all upper-secondary teachers welcome reform： on the one hand, they have to adopt norms, standards and values determined by colleagues, if they want to ＂fit in＂; on the other hand, they are confronted by governmental and educational claims, but also their own interest in doing things differently. This paper analyzes generational differences and similarities in the post-reform school in regard to leaming values and the competence discourse, which are an important part of the reform discourse. In addition, it explores the dilemmas which arise for young teachers their understanding of practical and theoretical teacher training. This paper combines theoretical approaches with data analysis being both quantitative and qualitative. Finally, this paper discusses team work as an important means to make dialogue between teacher generations possible and to enhance reflection on the relationship between practice and theory.     

Digital Explanation as Assessment in University Science

Research in Science Education - Assessments in tertiary science subjects typically assess content knowledge, and there is current need to both develop and assess different forms of knowledge and...     

The Contribution of RAN Pause Time and Articulation Time to Reading Across Languages: Evidence From a More Representative Sample of Children

We examined the relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) components—articulation time and pause time—and reading fluency across languages varying in orthographic consistency. Three hundred forty-seven Grade 4 children (82 Chinese-speaking Taiwanese children, 90 English-speaking Canadian children, 90 Greek-speaking Cypriot children, and 85 Finnish-speaking children) were assessed on RAN (colors and digits) and reading fluency (word reading efficiency and text reading speed). The results showed that articulation time accounted for more unique variance in reading in the alphabetic orthographies than in Chinese, and pause time for more unique variance in reading in Chinese than in alphabetic orthographies. If automaticity in RAN is manifested with a higher contribution of articulation time to reading fluency than pause time and with a strong relationship between articulation time and pause time, then our findings suggest that automaticity in RAN is reached earlier in alphabetic orthographies than in Chinese.     

The impact of national educational policies on student achievement: a European study

This paper investigates the impact of national policies for improving teaching and the school learning environment (SLE) on student achievement. In each participating country (i.e., Belgium/Flanders, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, and Slovenia), a sample of at least 50 schools was drawn and tests in mathematics and science were administered to all Grade 4 students (N = 10,742) at the beginning and end of school year 2010–2011. National policies were measured through (a) content analysis of policy documents, (b) interviews with policymakers, and (c) head-teacher questionnaires. Multilevel analyses revealed that most aspects of national policies for teaching and SLE were associated with student achievement in each subject irrespective of the source of data used to measure them. Implications are, finally, drawn.     

The role of achievement strategies on literacy acquisition across languages

We examined the importance of children’s achievement strategies in different literacy outcomes in three languages varying in orthographic consistency: Chinese, English, and Greek. Eighty Chinese-speaking Taiwanese children, 51 English-speaking Canadian children and 70 Greek children were assessed on measures of phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, reading fluency, and spelling. The children’s use of a task-focused versus task-avoidant achievement strategy in the classroom context was rated by their teachers. The results indicated that the teacher-rated task-focused behavior was a significant predictor of spelling and to a lesser extent of reading fluency and that its effects were comparable across languages.